Split The Fare
by BigMammaLlama5
Summary: It was about time the 'Snow Queen' landed herself a date. Continuation of modern day Ice Man AU. Elsa and Crixus (from Spartacus)


**Here's the second installment in my Frozen Ice Man AU. Ooof, that's a mouthful.**

**Currently there are two other pieces being worked on for this AU but I'm not posting them in chronological order like I am with The Ice Man or any of that Elsanna madness (of which there will be an update to INK next week just FYI…).**

**Anyways, I've been holding onto this one since the middle of January and I'm REALLY excited that I can finally share it with you all even if it is pretty short. I told myself I needed to edit and post this before I could write any more smut.**

**Let me know what you think!**

Split the Fare

It was absolutely _pouring_ in downtown Melbourne. The hot summer air of the late evening was muggy and thick upon the bustling nightlife. Elsa huffed in annoyance as her platinum blonde hair began to finally fall from its no-nonsense plait and into her face. She couldn't even reach up to fix it either because one hand carried her briefcase and the other clutched at a simple black umbrella, held aloft to hail a cab. It was creeping on nine o'clock and the modest black pumps were really starting to make her feet ache. She and her team had been in negotiations all day since eight that morning, hammering out plans and stipulations to cover the actors, actresses, and staff of a new upcoming TV show called _Theokoles_. Elsa usually didn't travel halfway across the world to close a deal but her boss had insisted with a hint at a step up in the office if all went well. _That_ of course got her attention.

Finally, a yellow taxi spotted her in the rain despite her sharply tailored, gunmetal gray pencil skirt suit. As it rolled to a stop at the curb she nearly jumped out of her skin when a deep raspy voice spoke up behind her.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Elsa whirled around and sucked a breath in, startled by the looming man in a blue and white rain jacket as her adrenaline spiked dangerously. His teeth flashed in a tentative smile, piercing black eyes peering out from underneath the billed hood. It was one of the actors in the new show, and Elsa felt the panic start to fade. This man had been extremely polite to her throughout the whole day, showing far more intelligence than she would have thought from how he looked. Of course that was a rude generalization, but the man did look like a bit of a meathead rugby player in her opinion. A very attractive meathead…

"Yes?" She quipped, still a little on edge. It wasn't unusual for clients to try and become friends with her, but it was a personal rule she kept to prevent that from happening for the sake of professionalism. Oddly, this actor had nearly breached that rule without even trying. His positive attitude and attentiveness to detail was refreshing, even though she knew that the legal jargon bored him to death. The blonde found herself being drawn to the man and frankly she didn't _want_ to fight it this time.

"Would it be too much trouble to ask if we shared your cab? I'd be more than happy to pay your fare."

Elsa gaped at him for a short moment, "I-well, no I don't think it would." She stuttered.

"Great! Thank you, I missed my ride and it's been hell to find one in this weather." He exclaimed gratefully and opened the door for her.

His tanned fingers just barely brushed against Elsa's as he plucked the umbrella from her grasp and held it above her head as she slid into the back seat. The blonde settled her heavy leather brief case on the floorboard right as the actor rounded the back of the car and flopped inside with a gruff "_ahh_". He shook off the umbrella and snapped it shut before tucking it up against the now closed door.

"Where to?" The middle-aged man in the driver seat asked.

"Melbourne Marriott, please." The blonde answered while clipping on her seatbelt.

"And you, mate?"

"The-uh, same hotel." He chuckled in mild surprise, glancing in between the driver and the quiet woman.

The cabbie nodded without much interest and pulled away from the curb, speeding off to their destination. The silence was _horribly_ awkward between them and Elsa _almost_ wished she had refused the actor a ride, but she hadn't so she bit her tongue and prepared to endure unpleasant small talk. _Damn_ the manners that had been beaten into her when she was younger…

The man sitting just to her left pushed back his hood and sighed heavily. "So..." He started hesitantly, rubbing his left hand through his close-cropped black hair.

Elsa nodded awkwardly, then after a brief pause shifted in her seat and stuck her right hand out to him.

"We weren't properly introduced earlier. I'm Elsa."

"Crixus. And thank you again for sharing your ride with me." He grinned again brightly and gently shook her hand, her slender fingers briefly dwarfed by his paw of a hand.

"It would have been horrible of me to refuse to your face." Elsa shot back, quirking an eyebrow with a smirk.

A burst of deep laughter erupted from the actor's chest at the woman's sass. She had been so straight-laced in the meetings that he had automatically assumed that she was just as boring as the information she haggled over. At that moment, he had never been so glad to be wrong. It was refreshing to meet a woman like her, just as smart and attractive and down to earth, as she was lively. He looked back over to the businesswoman and found her studying him with a curious look of faint recognition on her face. Her eyes were squinted and the furrow between her brows deepened as she tried to reach back further into her memories.

The grin started to slide off his face, "Is there something on me?" He asked, rubbing at his cheeks and stubbled chin.

"No, it's just… You look _awfully_ familiar and I can't place why…"

Just as Elsa trailed off they passed a neon purple and electric blue sign. The light was bright enough to cast them into relief and Elsa was suddenly back in the nightclub _fabric_ in London. It was _him_. The man she had accidentally bumped into when she had so clumsily stumbled from the dance floor. She couldn't hold back the soft gasp of surprise, her hand coming up and covering her mouth as it fell open in shock.

"You were there! At the club in London back in… god, when _was_ that… 2013!"

The actor, Crixus, stared at her blankly for just a split second before his own eyes grew wide with disbelief. They stared at each other for a long moment, their expressions not even giving them justice for how dumbfounded they were.

"Well. This is freaky."

His blunt exclamation sent both of them into fits of laughter, the atmosphere finally lightening.

"But hey, now I know that if I ever need to distract you I can just play _Freak_ by Kelly Rowland." He teased, a mischievous smirk pulling at his lips.

"Oh nooooo you _saw_…" Elsa moaned pitifully with a grimace of embarrassment, glad that the inside of the cab was dim enough to hide her blush.

"It was kind of hard not to. You pose a commanding figure." He eased off. "But don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"I feel _so_ relieved." She drawled flatly, just as the cab pulled up under the concrete awning to the hotel's front entrance.

Crixus handed the driver a wad of bills through the partition and thanked him as he hastily existed the car with the umbrella clutched in his left hand. He reached Elsa just in time to offer her a hand, which she hesitantly took. He could tell that while she was used to receiving attention, it wasn't this polite kind of gentlemanly attention that he had been raised with. It wasn't that he was trying to impress her; it's just how you were with a prominent matron figure in the family and three older sisters. You were _expected_ to be a gentleman or face their womanly wrath.

"Well, thank you, for paying for the ride." She told him and the awkwardness began to fall upon them again, prompting her to take a step towards the revolving doors.

"Wait! Your-uh-umbrella."

"Oh, it's the hotel's."

"Oh." He paused for a second and braced himself for a very possible rejection. "Have you eaten yet?"

The question was not what Elsa had been expecting, but one that she hadn't heard in quite a while. It kindled a little knot of excited nervousness in her chest.

"No, but I'm not supposed to fraternize with clients." She told him apologetically, chewing nervously on her lip.

"But what about old acquaintances? Even if our first meeting was on the edge of a loud dance floor?"

That brought her up short. Technically, she could use that as an excuse…

"Let me buy you dinner?"

Elsa looked up at the hopeful man, and made a split second decision that she sure as _hell_ hoped wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.

"I'll meet you at the hotel bar in twenty minutes."

And just like that Elsa was quickly striding away into the hotel, leaving an ecstatic Crixus in her wake. She only had a short amount of time to run up to her suit, wash, and change so there was no time to waste on any more pleasantries-there would be time for those later. The blonde caught an elevator by herself and just as the door was closing she hopped around in excitement, unaware that the actor had caught a glimpse of her happy dance. It was about time the 'Snow Queen' landed herself a date.


End file.
